andiesenji

Correct! There is a fairly significant range of temperature in syrup. If you have something in the syrup that is a different color, you can actually see the convection currents welling up from the center and falling along the perimeter if the vessel is large enough. If you drop food coloring into a clear syrup, it is very obvious.

I love my DLX also. I was shocked when I read in Cooks Illustrated that they didn't recommend it at all. I guess they never considered that it is meant for large batches of stuff. As they described their test, it didn't sound like a fair one to me. I can't make dough for 6 loaves in my KA and I have burned out motors on two while trying to knead stiff dough. I do have a 35-year-old 10 quart Hobart but it suffered an accident and only has one arm to hold the bowl. (Fell off a cart onto the cement driveway and so long Hobart) It is still in a corner of the garage as I keep thinking that "someday" I will have the arm welded back onto the lifter.

The cocoa cookie dough I usually make for the holidays is a lot like Tootsie Rolls before they are flattened and baked using one method that doesn't require rolling out and cutting. I have had people help themselves to the raw dough and suggest that I omit the baking, just wrap up the little pieces.

I have tried just about every type of candy/frying thermometer made within the last 30 years and I keep going back to the tried and true. This one has always worked best for me and the numbers are easy to read. Taylor makes quality thermometers that are accurate. I have tried the digitial ones for candy and they are often off 10-15 degrees, depending on the placement of the particular part of the probe that is sensitive to the heat. This one also has the advantage of having a loop at the top onto which a string can be tied (and in my case, fastened to a hook over the stovetop so it hangs in the center of a large pot of jam, instead of off to the side where the temperature may vary considerably. I do the same thing with syrup for candying fruit.

Just a note. I have been ordering from The Spice House in Milwaukee by phone and now on line for at least 35 years. I have never received any item that was of poor quality, indeed, I can't think of anything that was of less than excellent quality and the service is superior. Several times, when I had a large order, I received extras, i.e., samples of new products for me to try.

I haven't tried candying the whole fruit but have candied the rind. It is extremely aromatic and makes an excellent candied peel - it has a hint of citron and grapefruit flavor, more complex than either the regular lemons or the sweeter (and thinner-skinned) Meyer. I did find that it needed some extra pre-cooking in water to be as tender as I like. As I recall, I cooked it for one additional session in plain water.

The electric roasters I have are all very old, one was my grandmother's, bought in 1949, one is from the '50s and the other I bought new in 1968 (it is harvest gold so the era is pretty evident) The temp controls are pretty good but the ones now available have much better controls. A friend got one because she has a tiny stove but likes to make up big batches of chili for football and soccer tailgate parties and finds the roaster is ideal. She also wanted to try her hand at making jam this past summer and used it for cooking the fruit and was thrilled with the result. I think they are very versatile, most people just don't think of them as simply a giant crockpot cooker............

And here is something about the tree/bush itself. You are entirely correct. I have a couple of other links that are now "blind" for the other varieties. One of my friends in Vista has a good-sized tree that has three varieties grafted onto this main rootstock. She uses all of them for tea, one is a pinkish variety that has a faint cinnamon aroma/flavor along with the orange/chrysanthemum. She hasn't been able to find much information about it. However she has plans to travel to China next year - to tour tea gardens - and hopes to find some information. The man who originally grafted her tree has passed away and left no notes as to where he found the scion. (She is an avocado, persimmon and fig grower, as well as having an extensive herb garden.)

I have made an infusion using white tea with osmanthus and used it to poach pears. the flavor is quite remarkable. I bought this particular tea from Tea Spring in La Habra AhHa! I just found they now have a web site.tea spring and they sell just the flowers. I am sure there must be a place in the UK that would carry them.

The last time I tried to make candied orange peel (with pith left on), I used a crock pot. While I agree that the crock pot makes it easy to cook the peel slowly for long periods of time, I kept having problems with "hot spots" in the pot that were clearly running hotter than other areas (even when cooking on the low setting). The fruit in certain parts of the pot started to burn. As a result, I felt that I needed to stir the peels to keep the heat better distributed. Even doing this carefully, however, I still got a lot of broken peels. Is the problem that I need to get another crock pot? Do you find you need to stir your peels? Other suggestions? ← I rarely stir them but if the peels clump up in one place I use a shallow skimmer or a silicone spatula and slide it under the fruit and turn it over and shift them around so they are evenly distributed in the syrup. I haven't had problems with hot spots in the crockpots I use for candying - even the big electric roaster doesn't do this. The type I use are the ones that have the heating coils around the crock insert, not just on the bottom. You might try placing an ovenproof plate or platter, depending on whether your crockpot is round or oval, upside down on the bottom of the crockpot. The syrup will still be heated the same way but the fruit will not touch the bottom of the crock. Or, you can use a wire basket if you can find one that will fit in your crockpot. I do this when I candy whole kumquats, they are slipperly little devils during part of the cooking process and it is easier to keep them contained in a basket rather than have them slipping off a skimmer and bouncing onto the floor (or the toe of my shoe - which ruined a good pair of Uggs). I found a round fryer basket with removable handle that just fits one of my round crockpots and even has little "feet" on the bottom so it is held up off the bottom. Have you seen my "microwave candied citrus peel" it is in RecipeGullet. It is quick and fairly easy for small batches.

I had the same problem with my old Hobart and I found that wrapping a fine thread around the screw threads held it just fine but still allowed me to adjust the height. (I have a copper liner for the bowl and have to raise the beater a little to keep it from striking the bottom of that bowl.)

I have noticed that the "new" silicone spoon-shaped spatula/scrapers (spoonulas?) hold onto a lot more batter, frosting, whatever, that the old type rubber ones. In fact, everything seems to cling like glue to the silicone. Unless you put it aside for licking, you actually have to use something else to scrape it all off the silicone. The reason I got them was they were supposed to be "cling-free" as well as high temp safe..........

It is a jelly made from an infusion of dried sweet osmanthus flowers, AKA Kwai Hua or guì hu? chá, ???. You can buy the dried flowers in most Chinese herbal shops. or online. here. You have to make an infusion, add a sweetener then something to make it jell and cook it until that happens. (The Sure-Jel package has instructions- make it similar to a wine jelly.) The flowers are used in other recipes scroll down to where you see "osmanthus flowers" And here is something about the tree/bush itself. This is the wikipedia entry.

You never want to put a complex piece of machinery away with water on or in it. You may find that when you want to use it, it will not want its parts to move. I dry mine well and even spray a little vegelene in the works and turn the crank a few times, just to make sure. Years ago I had one that someone used, rinsed and put away in its plastic bag (to keep dust off) and when I wanted to use it, the crank would not turn. It wasn't exactly rust, but some kind of corrosion (gray flakes fell out when I pounded it on the counter) had caused the works to seize up. I take care of my stuff and it keeps working just fine.

For your convenience, I made a link to Star Kitchen. It is a really good store. I can just stay in there for a long time and dream. FYI Van Nuys is located right in the middle of the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles area, about a 20-30 minute drive west from Universal Studios. ← And they have thousands more items than those listed on the web site. I know people who drive from Las Vegas to load up their van with stuff at Star.

I use Dawn Power Dissolver spray. Take the machine apart, place it in the sink and spray all the exposed surfaces with the Dawn - Allow it to "work" for at least 30 minutes or longer. Pour boiling water over it and let it set in the water for a couple of minutes, brush the exposed surfaces and down into the recesses with a dish brush (I use a nail brush). Drain the water from the sink and rinse well with hot water. When mine needs this kind of cleaning I blow it dry with a heat gun but a hair dryer works well also. If there are any little sticky spots left, the best way to get them off and to polish the metal is to take a barely damp folded paper towel, dip in DRY baking soda and rub the spot. This is what I use to clean my antique chrome appliances and it works beautifully to remove those burnt on grease spots that are difficult with any other method.

Ah yes, the favorite "clingy bits" that end up as a sort of gooey rim around the pot after jam or jelly has been ladeled out. The top edge of the cooking jam always sort of works it way up a little above the level of the jam and becomes "candied" almost the consistency of a jujube. I have discovered that I can get the entire thing off in an unbroken string if I use a thin-bladed butter knife lightly heated over a burner flame.

Perhaps there's a connection between the 38 and the jewelry? To say nothing of the "forgotten" cash. Perhaps you live next door to robbers! SB (Tell Mrs Obregon she's welcome. She can forward my normal 25% "finders fee" to the local Food Shelf) ← Not very likely they are robbers! Two of their sons are cops, one a Highway patrolman the other an L.A. Co. Sheriff. Mr. Obregon fills in as a security guard at the Palmdale airport when they are short-handed so his security check is pretty solid.

I had breakfast with my next-door neighbors and mentioned this thread. They immediately took inventory of the things on top of their refrigerator and I made a list. A basket of chiles that are in the process of drying. At the back, reachable only with a step-stool is a bottle of very expensive tequila. A tin of "Danish cookies" those that appear in stores every year. A tin of popcorn, 3 flavors. A revolver, 38 special in a padded box. A jug of vinegar. A dish with some jewelry that was removed by someone at the T-Day party and not yet claimed. Someone is missing a wedding and engagement ring and a fancy dinner ring, a watch and a bracelet. Also a retainer wrapped in a napkin. Somebody's teeth are not in training! And last but not least, $80.00 (4 20.00 bills in a paper clip) that was placed there some time back and forgotten. Mrs. Obregon says to thank whoever began this "conversation" as she thought she had lost it.

I buy osmanthus tea - and have even found the flowers sold separately at one time. That is the only thing where I have heard the term Kwai Hua Chin Hsuan used. Osmanthus flower tea I know that some people make a tea jelly with it but I am unfamiliar with how it is used in a particular dessert. I have eaten a sort of bean curd sweet that was made by cooking the bean curd in the tea but I have no recipe and my friends are now living in Hong Kong. If you could describe the dessert and perhaps some of the other ingredients, I could look in some of my books. Isn't "quan fa" the same as kung fu?

I didn't see this thread until this morning. You can get an excellent stabilizer, in small packets at Cost Plus Imports - it is called Whipit and is made by Oetker. You can also find it at other stores but I know that Cost Plus always has it. Too late now but you can order it online from Amazon just type in Oetker - Amazon carries a lot of their products. I have tried just about every method of stabilizing whipped cream, for cream puffs, cream horns and etc. This is the best by far.Oetker Whipit

I agree with Richard and Dave. Patience is the key! You can also watch for notices of "going out of business" for shops that carry the lines of cookware you want. They often sell them for pennies on the dollar. From time to time department stores will close out a line of cookware to carry a different brand. Those are sold at very deep discount. Now that most of them have web sites, you can check there rather than depend on print media notices. I have a couple of Sitram pots which are made for the induction range (a magnet has to stick to the bottom) because my other stockpots are copper or aluminum. I found them at one of the "factory" outlet stores in Lake Elsinore for less than 50% of the regular price listed on line at "bizrate" or "epinions". So if you have one of these factory outlet malls in your area, check them out. However, you should go online first and print out the best prices and deals such as free shipping, no tax if ordering from out of state, to make sure you do get the best price. Sometimes these places will reduce the price if you have a catalog or printout showing a better price. Don't be afraid to ask, the worst they can say is "no" and they might say yes.

I love the Hall teapots. I have 2 of them, and two of similar build made by McCormick, that I found at various flea markets & street fairs over the years. They are the best! Not terribly elegant, but they really do the job, and I'm fanatical about that. ← I have found that any Hall teapot will hold the heat longer than just about any other type. I have a couple of the old style McMormick with the curved "dripless" spout. I found it at a yard sale and had collected a box of other stuff. The lady said she would throw the teapot in because "that old thing was my mama's and I don't have any use for it." I also bought almost a complete set of Bauer dinnerware from her for $10.00. She said she would have kept it if it was "Fiesta" ..... Shame on me, I didn't tell her Fiesta was copied from the Bauer "ringware"....

Here's mine. Nuked Peanut Brittle In a 2-quart Pyrex measure combine: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup light corn syrup (If you can get Lyle's Golden syrup, it makes a much better brittle.) (Use a wooden spoon, this is very thick.) Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Add: 1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or almonds or pecans or broken macadamia nuts. Your choice. Stir well and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until mixture is tan to light brown. Add: 1 teaspoon butter 1 teaspoon vanilla Stir well. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes more: The nuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot. Add: 1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkle over the top of the syrup. Stir briskly until light and foamy. Immediately pour onto lightly oiled foil or use Release foil and no oil is needed. Spread out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour. When completely cool, it should now be brittle. Break up and store in an airtight jar. You can use raw peanuts, however, add them at the beginning and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

I have an open cabinet over my fridge that holds my sheet pans and other flat pans, bun pans, big muffin pans, trays. It sets back 10 inches from the front of the fridge because the fridge does not set all the way back against the wall. (Space used to hold built in fridge and freezer). There is just enough space between the top of the fridge and the bottom of the cabinet to hold 2 flat boxes of parchment pan liners, full sheet and half sheet with the flap at the end of each box hinged at the top so the paper stays clean. I move a cart in front of the fridge, pull down a sheet pan, apply a liner, stack the next pan on top, apply a liner and so on. When I lived down below and still had the 32 cf side-by-side Kelvinator, the top held my sprout "garden" as I found that my sprout trays produced sprouts twice as fast there as anywhere else in the kitchen. I also used to place my dough trough up there for the dough to rise. It was just warm enough to promote optimum yeast action. I still miss that fridge. It may have been an energy hog and it wasn't frost-free, but it held a lot of stuff and ALL the shelves were slide-out and adjustable to any height.